Belfair art wall showcases 50-year painter

Kirk Boxleitner | May 04, 20230

Colleen Harlow has painted landscapes for at least 50 years, but before she moved to Mason County half a dozen years ago, she hadn’t settled down in any one place long enough to connect with its artistic scene.

“I came to Mason County to retire in the same place where my daughter lives,” said Harlow, whose artwork is being displayed throughout May on the Belfair Self-Storage’s art wall. “It’s such a great place to be, and Belfair is such a nice small town, especially when the weather gets warmer.”

Harlow credited her daughter with suggesting she talk to Barbara Treick, manager of the self-storage business and creator of its art wall.

Harlow’s art has appeared in venues ranging from a county courthouse to stores, but the same travels that have inspired her art have prevented her from developing deeper roots in places she’s called home.

“My paintings have never hung in a gallery or a museum,” Harlow said.

Harlow has traveled the country, from the Northeast through the Midwest to the Southwest, and around Europe, Asia and Africa.

Those travels have given her an abiding appreciation for the natural environments of each corner of the globe.

“With the landscapes I’ve painted, I’ve tried to capture something of everything I’ve seen, from the deserts and the mountains to the snow and the cactus,” Harlow said. “I’ve taken pictures of everywhere I’ve traveled, that I use for reference. And I try very hard not to repeat myself, by doing more than more representation of any one type of scene.”

In addition to capturing the complexity of the places she’s encountered, Harlow said she enjoys the exercise of painting.

“I started painting when I was in college, and now, I’m a senior citizen, so I guess you could say I’m obsessed with it,” Harlow laughed. “It’s just such a relaxing, soothing process that I find myself painting just about every day. And I love attempting to recreate the beauty of the earth itself, after having witnessed it firsthand.”

Harlow said she finds some aspects of painting more challenging than others.

“The seashore has always been difficult for me to capture,” Harlow said. “I’ve never been fully satisfied with my depictions of it. But I love painting sunsets. I love the sky itself, whether it’s cloudy or clear, in the evening or the morning.”

Harlow’s paintings at Belfair Self-Storage are tentatively set to include her representations of locales as far away as New Zealand and the Bahamas, and as near as Mount Rainier.

Harlow advised painters coming up to keep at their craft, whatever else they do in life.

“Just keep on painting,” Harlow said. “Don’t quit. And make connections with other artists, which I’m looking forward to finally doing more of. Take painting classes. Enroll in artistic workgroups. Exchange ideas with other artists. There should be a social dynamic. You can’t expect to grow or evolve all by yourself.”

Harlow said she’s skeptical of some of the more flattering feedback her work has received.

“I’ve been told people like the clarity of my representations,” Harlow said. “I’ve even heard some people call them spectacular, but I find that hard to believe.”

Harlow is available for commission work. She invites those who are interested to email her at [email protected].

May also brings the HUB (Hospitality, Unity, Belonging) Center for Seniors’ annual fundraising runway show on May 13. Rehearsals are slated for May 12.